Listen to this week's best new music

David Smyth rounds up this week's hottest new tracks which you can listen to online now

Friday 22 November 2013 15:51 BST

LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 20: Singer Lily Allen attends the Closing Night Gala European Premiere of "Saving Mr Banks" during the 57th BFI London Film Festival at Odeon Leicester Square on October 20, 2013 in London, England. Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for BFI

Dido

Dido might be due a revival now that there are so many new female singers emoting over tasteful electronic backdrops. She has a greatest hits collection in download stores on Monday, while an uncharacterically lively new song, NYC, is on YouTube now.

Lily Allen

Lily Allen only needs to release eight more singles to have the top 10 to herself this Sunday. Her soppy Keane cover for the John Lewis ad, Somewhere Only We Know, is already riding high, while the decidedly unsoppy comeback proper, Hard Out Here, is out this week. Both are on sale online.

Skillet

American Christian rock doesn’t often fare well on these shores, but Skillet are so loud that you might not notice the religious overtones. Their latest album, Rise, has already gone platinum in the US and is in download stores on Monday in time for this weekend’s big support slot with Nickelback.

Denver singer-songwriter Nathaniel Rateliff makes his UK return with a couple of London pub gigs on December 5 and 10. His second album, Falling Faster Than You Can Run, is launched properly here in January but is already in download stores.

Brendan Benson still isn’t a household name despite sharing songwriting credits with Jack White in The Raconteurs. Nevertheless, his latest solo album is, as ever, worth investigating. You Were Right is in download stores on Monday.

Nile Rodgers

Nile Rodgers is all over dance music right now. After those Daft Punk, Chase and Status and Avicii collaborations, a new electronic funk song, Together, by the catchily titled collective, Sam Smith x Nile Rodgers x Disclosure x Jimmy Napes, has appeared on YouTube as a lyric video.

Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey earned a bit more attention for her new single by having an internet wobbly about it a few days ago. In what she was self-aware enough to call a “20-page ‘diva in distress’ thesis”, she complained at considerable length about the version on Facebook being slightly different from the one on iTunes. Panic over – the proper version of The Art of Letting Go is in download stores now.

SBTRKT

Fans of SBTRKT haven’t had much to chew on since his brilliant 2011 album. Every now and again, though, he’s been posting doodles with the title “further audio and visual experiments” on YouTube. There isn’t much to the latest one but it does have a lovely, abstract black-and-white video.

Maximo Park

Maximo Park have changed tack from spiky indie pop to something dark and electronic on their comeback song, Brain Cells. Produced by Dave Okumu of The Invisible, it precedes a new album in February and can be downloaded for free on their website.

Songkick

The concert-goers’ app Songkick relaunched for IOS7 users this week with a new version that scans your Spotify as well as your personal library to establish your tastes, and allows you to buy tickets on the move instead of waiting at your desk for an onsale time. It’s free in the App Store now.